Taipans Beyond Their bite, these snakes are like other Australian elapids. Raymond Hoser Originally Published in Reptiles (USA), August 2008. Perhaps the worst snake to be bitten by is the taipan (Oxyuranus spp.). Even with advent of antivenom the prognosis for survival from a bite isn't good. Experiments with mice show an average taipan bite is potent enough to kill about 50,000 mice or 50 people. Theyï¿½re considered the worldï¿½s deadliest snakes, and snakekeepers everywhere covet them. But getting past taipans deadly number-one status, what really separates these snakes from other Australian elapids? The reality is not all that much. Brown, Jumpy and Adaptable Taipans are large and thin snakes. Mature males average 210 cm in total length, and females measure 180 cm. Most are brownish. With large eyes, theyï¿½re generally presumed to be one of the most intelligent snakes because they rely to a greater extent on both sight and smell to detect objects rather than essentially just smell like many other snakes.

Brown snakes (Pseudonaja spp.) and taipans are unusual among Australian snakes because their bellies are yellowish and sport distinct flecks or squiggles, especially on the forebody.ï¿½ Other ï¿½brownï¿½ snakes from the genera Cannia, Panacedechis and Pailsus lack this trait. Currently there are three named taipan species: Oxyuranus scutellatus, O. microlepidota and O. temporalis. Although taipans are deadly, they would rather run away than fight or bite. They can move backwards at high speed and thus have a good ï¿½reverse gear.ï¿½ Unless you try to catch or kill a taipan, the risk of bite is slight. Remember, these snakes should only be caught or handled by people with experience in handling deadly snakes. Even experienced handlers must be prepared to risk the consequences of an unexpected bite (i.e. death). More often than most snakes, taipans will flick their body or "jump" when approached or touched.ï¿½ This behavior instills fear in the handler and may be a precursor to a bite. However, this isnï¿½t always the case.

Sometimes the rapid flick is mistaken for aggression when it's not. In the wild taipans are like most other large diurnal elapids. They are adaptable to various habitats so long as their basic requirements are met. These include shelter, a basking spot for warmth and proximity to a water source. They like a drink every two days or so. Wild taipans seem to prefer rodents, but smaller members will eat lizards and rarely frogs. These snakesï¿½ partiality to rodents as opposed to frogs has given them a recent relative advantage and numbers increase over competitors such as red-bellied black snakes (Pseudechis porphyriacus) and Papuan blacks (Cannia papuanus). Both prefer frogs, and many have died trying to eat cane toads (Rhinella marina, formerly known as Bufo marinus), which produce a toxin for self-defense. Taipans may actively run down their prey.ï¿½ This gives you an idea as to how fast they can move. They are also ï¿½ambushï¿½ predators that wait under cover for food items to pass. Keeping Taipans Snakekeepers should keep taipans like any other elapid.

I keep my 2-meter-long adults in 60 cm plastic tubs in a rack system. They donï¿½t nose rub, which is the most obvious sign a cage is too small, so I assume the space suits them. I donï¿½t change cage size according to age, but larger snakes go in larger cages. If snakes do rub their snouts, enlarge the cage, reduce the number of transparent surfaces or both. Although snout rubbing has been seen in other elapids, such as copperheads (Austrelaps spp.), I have not seen it in my taipans, and reports of it are rare. Provide the snakes with a basking area of about 30 to 35 degrees C, and aim for a cooler refuge of about 20 degrees C but allow for anything between 10 to 26 degrees depending on seasons and other factors. Also provide a hide and a water dish. Captive taipans never swim ï¿½ not that Iï¿½ve seen anyway ï¿½ so the size of the water container need not be huge, but it should be deep and not spill. Other cage accessories are optional.

In terms of cage access, you need to be aware of bite risks and plan accordingly. Taipans can be agreeable, but even so, it is not uncommon for me to see snakes kept in standard top-opening cages lunge out to strike their owner every time the cage is opened. Coastal taipans (Oxyuranus scutellatus) and inland taipans (O. microlepidota) are found in similar numbers in captivity. In terms of demeanor, O. microlepidota is the more civilized species. For the most part it's unusual to have an aggressive inland taipan. Juveniles or wild snakes when theyï¿½re first caught are the exceptions. Aggressive coastal taipans seem common, especially if they are wild caught or mishandled. Theyï¿½re Intelligent. Are You? Captive taipans roam about their cages and generally are active and alert. They show their relative intelligence by recognizing different handlers and reacting differently to them. Wild-caught specimens start out aggressive (most likely because of fear) and will bite if given a chance. However, a taipanï¿½s intelligence actually works in its favor under captive conditions.

The snakes tend to settle down within weeks. More intractable ones may take a few months. Taipans remaining "aggressive" beyond this time are usually exposed to improper management or bad handling. Keeping and handling venomous snakes requires skill, but this expertise isn't just necessary to avoid a bite. It also includes being able to handle a snake so it has no fear of its handler and thus loses all inclination to bite. Snakekeepers should avoid startling their taipans when opening up cages, and they should avoid aggressively pinning snakes or doing much else that may cause pain, stress or reason to bite. These snakes have plenty of strength and ability to squirm if ï¿½necked,ï¿½ grabbed by the neck in a pincerlike or grabbing-type restraining hold, and handlers should be aware of this before attempting such a move.ï¿½ Taipans adapt to being handled with a hook quite quickly, and most keepers soon find the day-to-day keeping and moving of the snakes to be quite easy. Food for Deadly Fangs As a rule, feed rodents to taipans from the time they hatch, and merely up the size as the snakes get bigger.

Although elapids cannot distend their mouth and jaws as wide as pythons, taipans can do so to a greater degree than any other Australian elapid. Hence a rodentï¿½s size can be slightly greater than the width of an unfed snake but no larger. Besides rodents, I have fed my larger taipans other food items without apparent ill-effects to the snakes. These include lumps of meat, fish and chicken necks. Hatchlings and smaller snakes often don't feed voluntarily, especially if live food is unavailable, so force-feeding very young taipans is routine at my facility. A common mistake of elapidkeepers is to try to get their snakes to voluntarily feed, but the result is that snakes get too emaciated to recover before force-feeding begins, or they starve to death. Taipans pull back when pinned near the head or neck, in a ï¿½retract responseï¿½, which is essentially a defensive move. This habit makes young snakes easy to pin and neck in order to force-feed them. Always be wary of their fangs.

In the absence of voluntary feeding I force-feed hatchlings dead mice every few days, including when theyï¿½re eyes are clouded, until they grow to about 60 cm (about 5 months old). Then they are assist-fed and eat readily. Usually about one to three months later the snakes commence voluntary feeding on whatever you have been feeding them. In my case this includes mouse legs, lumps of beef and chicken, and fish.ï¿½ Adult Taipans are usually voracious. It is unlikely to have one that doesn't feed voluntarily ï¿½ even on dead food ï¿½ unless it's very sick.ï¿½ Compared to other large Australian elapids, taipans pass food considerably slower. For example, brown snakes (Pseudonaja spp.) under 24-hour heat may take 24 hours to digest a mouse. Taipans under similar conditions may take two to three days to pass the same size mouse. Only death adders (Acanthophis spp.) have slower digestive rates, which may have something to do with their being ambush predators. Breeding Oxyuranus Breed taipans like you would for most other snakes.

Separate the sexes and cool for "winter." There is no compelling need to keep seasons in line with either the northern or southern hemisphere. Even at our facility in Australia we run our ï¿½seasonsï¿½ about four months ahead of the natural cycle. Contrary to what many people say, in most parts of Australia, including north Queensland, taipans hibernate as much as they are inactive during the winter months. In the wild their activity ceases at the end of the northern wet fall season (April/May), and they don't become active again until about late winter (August). Activity peaks a month or two later in spring. In captivity, breeding success is achieved by keeping taipans under 20 degrees C, but a diurnal temperature range between 14 and 20 degrees C is best.

Photoperiod does not seem terribly relevant as the movement of snakes in their cages seems mainly temperature dependent and it is temperature that regulates breeding cycles.ï¿½ Notwithstanding light coming through windows and my own activity in the snakeï¿½s room, room lights tend to run 12 hours a day all year due to the fact that not all snakes in the room may necessarily be in ï¿½hibernation modeï¿½. Run the ï¿½winterï¿½ period for about seven weeks minimum. Then increase the temperature at the warm end of the cage to 30 degrees for another 12 weeks with 12 hours of heat. One part of the cage should remain at 20 degrees C (or thereabouts) at all times. Introduce males and females at the end of this period, and as a matter of course most males mount the females immediately. Connection usually ensues within 12 hours and generally lasts 12 to 20 hours. More than one successful mating in succession, such as two to three during the course of a month, increases chances of a female developing fertile eggs.

In a recent world first, Snakebusters engaged in artificial (or assisted) insemination for various squamates, including taipans . We collected semen from males and transferred it via straight glass capillary tubes into female snakes. The process was developed for specific snakes that were fertile but didnï¿½t mate, but it has since been expanded to enable mating of snakes in different facilities without the need to transport animals or do breeding loans. Although some of these inseminations produced young, the taipans werenï¿½t among them. The world first was successful artificial insemination in numerous species of squamates using a single technioque to produce healthy offspring, including Tiger Snakes and Bluetongues.ï¿½ The latter is important as the Adelaide Zoo has not been able to breed the endangered Tiliqua adelaidensis using ï¿½naturalï¿½ means. Most snake breeders will do well with just one male taipan. It's rare to have a dud, and males engage in combat during the mating season. To incubate eggs, the standard 30 degrees at 100 percent humidity works fine. Do not supersaturate the eggs, or they will sweat and go off.

If the incubation medium, such as coarse-grade vermiculite, appears too wet, add more dry vermiculite to the mix. Rearing Danger For the 2004-2005 season statistics for my coastal taipans were as follows. Eggs were laid in December 2004. Eighty percent covered in vermiculite, they were incubated between 28.5 and 30.5 degrees C at 100 percent humidity. They hatched in February 2005 after 77 days. Young averaged 36 cm in total length, and they passed 60 cm in June 2005. Kept as warm as they could tolerate (they straddled their heat mat), they were fed as much as they could eat. A growth rate of about 5 cm a month is about as good as one can get for taipans. This is far lower than some growth rates quoted in literature, and some of these rates could be exaggerated, mismeasured or amazingly freakish. However, short-term growth rates of 10 cm per month are definitely possible.

Young taipans of both species kept in captivity are known to drop dead suddenly and without obvious explanation. Outside of these cases, the snakes are not particularly difficult to raise.ï¿½ Males and females have similar growth rates. Females are generally more slender in build, including their heads. They are also usually more placid than males, which is the trend seen in most Australian elapids where males engage in combat. Although it is possible to accurately guess the sex of adult taipans based on their builds or relative tail thickness (tail sexing), probing is the only reliable way to sex these snakes. Although drably colored, taipans arenï¿½t particularly aggressive by snake standards, and their general intelligence and number-one status in venom potency/yield makes them a welcome addition to a collection of deadly snakes. SIDEBAR 1 Battle of the Browns Historically, taipans were found across most of Australia and New Guinea until probably within the past 30,000 years. This included most of the northern two-thirds of continental Australia. At some recent time, king brown snakes (Cannia spp.) or their precursors moved across northern Australia and literally outcompeted taipans and other species of similar size.

The end result has been a general contraction in the taipanï¿½s range. In modern times these snakes are scarce or extinct where king browns are common, which helps explain the disjunct distribution of taipans across most parts of northern Australia except the Queensland coast, where king brown snakes are generally absent and taipans are common. SIDEBAR 2 Indonesian Exports Taipans are native to Australia, but a reovirus has adversely affected snakes in Australian collections. It has led to a shortage in the country. In the United States, taipans are imported from Irian Jaya, Indonesia. The best place for people living outside Australia to get these snakes is from Indonesian-based exporters. Most specimens are shipped from Merauke, and they come from the immediate vicinity. Assuming legal and safety hurdles are covered, the snakes arenï¿½t too expensive to obtain. SIDEBAR 3 Watch the Fangs Snakekeepers force-feeding taipans food or medicine should always be wary of the fangs. These snakes sport 1.5 cm long fangs and large venom glands (by Aussie standards anyway).

Taipan fangs tend to flex somewhat, so they may move slightly and accidently prick and envenomate an unsuspecting handler. Sometimes they even penetrate the snakeï¿½s lower jaw. These fang characteristics make taipans more dangerous during necking than the average elapid, and that's before you realize they are the deadliest snake on earth. SIDEBAR 4 Plagues on a Killer Because so many taipans are wild-caught, your new charge might have some health issues. Here are three problems and their treatments. Taipans may carry ticks. If attached to a snakeï¿½s lower jaw, they give it a bearded appearance. To treat for ticks (and also as a secondary mite treatment) It is best to inject with ivermectin (at about 150% the dose rate for cattle by weight and after two ays, pick off any dead ticks with tweezers. Use commercial mite sprays or appropriate pest strips for ï¿½mite onlyï¿½ problems. 2. Tapeworms, nematodes and lungworms are common in wild adults.

Treat these parasites with the usual drugs: Droncit (PO), Panacur (PO) and Ivermectin (IM). PO is ï¿½orallyï¿½ and ï¿½IM is intamuscular injection. 3. Skin lumps, caused by an internal parasite migrating through the snakeï¿½s body and ending up encysted under the skin, are also seen sometimes. Snakes eating infested skinks (and occasionally other animals) encounter the problem. External lumps may be literally ï¿½cut outï¿½ through incisions between scales, while the unseen internal ones are heard to deal with.ï¿½ The use of tapeworm treatments has a level of success. ONLINE Know Your Taipan Currently there are three named taipan species: Oxyuranus scutellatus, O. microlepidota and O. temporalis. With its ghost-white snout and coffin-shaped head, the coastal taipan (O. scutellatus) is found along the coast of Queensland and nearby areas of Australia.

However, as one moves outside this range into northern New South Wales, the Northern Territory or northwest Western Australia, populations are scattered and scarce.ï¿½ The species also occurs in New Guinea. Two distinct races are found there. Coastal taipans from Irian Jaya and nearby are essentially similar to the northern Australian animals. Those from east Papua New Guinea, such as Port Moresby, are distinctly grayish-black. Known as O. scutellatus canni, they often have orange coloring along the middorsal line. Coastal taipans from northwest Australia (O. scutellatus barringeri) are usually more reddish than their eastern cousins. But no matter what their color, coastal taipans tend to darken during the winter. The inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidota) varies in color, but it usually has a darkish head and snout. Snakes from eastern Australiaï¿½s inland areas of black soil and floodplains are usually brownish, but the color varies seasonally. The darker winter color includes a blackish head. These snakes are superficially similar to some western brown snakes (Pseudonaja nuchalis) found in the same areas.

At a glance, itï¿½s often impossible to tell the two species apart. But taipans have 23 midbody rows, and brown snakes have only 17 to 19. Not much is known about the newly named taxon Oxyuranus temporalis from inland Western Australia. The original diagnosis for the species was weak and in parts erroneous, and it was based on a single dead museum specimen. The snake is similar in many respects to O. scutellatus. Non-urgent email inquiries via the Snakebusters bookings page at: The Fierce Snake / Inland Taipan Facts – Questions and Answers | Fun Facts You Need to Know! The Fierce Snake / Inland Taipan Facts – Questions and Answers The Fierce Snake / Inland Taipan Facts – Questions and Answers The Fierce Snake / Inland Taipan Facts! Questions and Answers – Venomous Snakes Of The World! Photo of a Fierce Snake (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) taken at Australia Zoo. Photo by XLerate, GFDL Q: Where is the inland taipan found? General range of inland taipan (in red).

Image credit: Taipan198, cc2.5 acheter du Enhance 9 30caps en France Q: How long is the inland taipan snake? Image credit: AllenMcC., cc3.0 A: The inland taipan is a large snake that can grow up to 8 feet long, although most are between five and six feet long. It is olive-colored in the summer and dark brown in winter with dark, smooth scales arranged in diagonal rows. The color change is an adaptation which allows the inland taipan to absorb more heat in winter and less heat in summer. Q: What do inland taipans eat? Inland Taipan Diet. Credit: Plendil 2,5mg 5mg 10mg dosaggio e effetti A: The diet of the inland taipan consists mostly of native rats, particularly the long-haired rat. When there are plenty of long-haired rats, inland taipans grow large and fat. However, during drought, long-haired rats are scarce and inland taipans must feed on other rats, as well as mice, quolls , numbats and birds.

Like other snakes, the inland taipan is an ambush predator that silently stalks its prey and then strikes when the time is right. Unlike other venomous snakes, though, the inland taipan doesn’t just deliver a single bite and then wait for the animal to die from the venom. Rather, the inland taipan delivers up to eight bites in a single strike, then holds its prey. Now, this may seem dangerous since prey usually fight back. But not for the inland taipan. The venom is so potent that the prey has no chance to put up a fight and the inland taipan swallows it whole without a fuss. A relatively effortless meal, don’t you think? Q: Does the inland taipan have predators? A mulga snake or King Brown Snake (Pseudechis australis), on the Western Cape, Western Australia. Image credit: Smacdonald, cc3.0 Arcoxia 60mg 90mg 120mg en ligne livraison express A: As fearsome a predator as the inland taipan may be, it has predators of its own.

The inland taipan is eaten by the king brown snake, which is immune to its venom, and the perentie, the fourth largest living lizard which can grow over 8 feet long, as well. Q: Do inland taipans lay eggs? comprare Viagra Professional 100mg in farmacia A: Inland taipans are among the oviparous snakes, which means it lays eggs, usually in burrows abandoned by mammals or in deep, wide cracks in the soil. They can lay as many as 20 eggs or as few as 11, the average being 16. They can produce two clutches of eggs in a year, especially if there is a lot of food. The eggs hatch after 9 to 11 weeks and the newly hatched snakes are around 18 inches long. They do not receive any parental care but already possess a deadly dose of venom with which to hunt and defend themselves. Q: Is the inland taipan endangered?

acheter du Malegra FXT 100/60mg 100/40mg en France A: The inland taipan has not been assessed by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). However, it is considered as Near Threatened or Rare in Queensland and classified as a species of Least Concern in South Australia. It is protected by law and a special permit is required to capture it, as well as a separate special license to own it. Q: Why is the inland taipan called the fierce snake? Photo of a Fierce Snake (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) taken at Australia Zoo. Photo by XLerate, GFDL Menosan 60caps miglior prezzo A: One of the alternative names of the inland taipan is the fierce snake, making it even more fearsome. Fierce, however, in this case does not mean aggressive. Rather, what is fierce is not the snake’s temper but its venom, which is highly toxic. The scientific name of the inland taipan is Oxyuranus microlepidotus.

Oxyuranus comes from the Greek words oxus, oura and anus which, combined, mean ‘having a long-pointed tail’. Microlepidotus is a combination of the Greek words mikros meaning ‘small’ and lepidotos meaning ‘scaly’. Therefore, another name for the inland taipan is small-scaled snake. Q: Is the inland taipan the most venomous snake in the world? A: The inland taipan is widely considered to be the most venomous snake in the world. What this means is that its venom is the most deadly. The venom of the inland taipan is a complex combination of toxins, including neurotoxins or those that affect the brain and nervous system, procoagulants which make blood clot, myotoxins which affect the muscles and nephrotoxins which affect the kidneys. What makes this combination even worse is the addition of hyaluronidase, an enzyme which speeds up the absorption of the venom. Aside from its quantity, the quality of the inland taipan venom is also deadly. There is enough venom in a single bite to kill 250,000 mice or 100 fully grown men.

And remember, when the inland taipan bites, it doesn’t just do it once, but several times in rapid succession. Also, the inland taipan does not deliver a dry bite, like other venomous snakes, which means its bite is always laced with venom. Let us be clear, however, in saying that while the inland taipan is the world’s most venomous snake, it is not the world’s deadliest snake. To be a deadly snake, you need more than just lethal venom. Q: Is the inland taipan more dangerous than the coastal taipan? Coastal Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus scutellatus). Image credit: AllenMcC. cc3.0 Aygestin 5mg senza ricetta acquistare A: There is another taipan living in Australia – the coastal or common taipan, cousin to the inland taipan. Like the inland taipan, it is venomous. It is larger, however, able to grow up to 11 feet long and is more widely distributed. Whereas inland taipans prefer dry areas, coastal taipans prefer wet areas, such as wetlands, forests and grassy plains.

Is the coastal taipan more deadly? While its venom is not as toxic as that of the inland taipan, the coastal taipan is considered more dangerous than its cousin because it is larger, more easily encountered and more aggressive, striking quickly when threatened. Q: How many people have been killed by the inland taipan? A: Yes, an inland taipan can definitely kill, but it actually hasn’t. In spite of the toxicity of its venom, there has been no single fatality recorded from the bite of an inland taipan. Only one bite is recorded per year, sometimes none at all, and the victims are usually adults healthy enough to travel through the outback. This means they have a better chance of surviving a snake bite from the start and with the treatment widely available, they are able to recover. Q: Why is a fierce snake bite so uncommon? Zyloprim 100mg 300mg in farmacia online sicuro A: A fierce snake bite is not at all common since fierce snakes live far away from people and are usually only active in the early morning. Also, inland taipans are shy snakes. When encountered by humans, they flee and hide rather than fight back.

Q: What happens when you get bitten by an inland taipan? Most common symptoms of any kind of snake bite poisoning by Mikael Häggström, PD image. Plendil 2,5mg 5mg 10mg pas cher en ligne A: Upon getting bitten by a fierce snake, you will experience a headache, nausea, abdominal pain or dizziness within minutes. As time passes, you will find it hard to move and breathe until you become completely paralyzed, collapse, have convulsions and eventually succumb to organ failure. Death can happen in as short as 45 minutes without treatment. If you are bitten by an inland taipan, then remove yourself first from striking distance, call for an ambulance or have someone drive you to the nearest hospital and while waiting, apply a compression bandage to restrict the blood flow and position yourself in such a way that the bite area is below your heart. Once you get to the hospital and receive antivenom, consider yourself saved, though it can take you weeks before you get out of the hospital depending on the severity of the bite.

Inland taipan are featured in the following books: Steve Irwin Plays With Inland Taipan (Fierce Snake) by amorlombresias Deadliest snake in the world by 601ProductionLTD worlds most venomous poisonous snake by Gotcha29 Teenager Survives “Most Venomous” Snake Bite by NTDTV Billabong Sanctuary - Australian Native Wildlife Park Townsville Coastal Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) The Top Ten of the most venomous species of snakes in the world live in Australia. Does this make the Australian bush a dangerous place to visit? Not necessarily! The chances of stumbling across any one of these potentially deadly reptiles in the wild are extremely small. The probability of actually getting bitten is even smaller. Visitors to Billabong Sanctuary can have a close look at some of these fascinating reptiles, including the Coastal Taipan, safely housed in large enclosures. Rather than fearing these awesome snakes, we should try to understand their amazing adaptations for life in the Australian bush. What’s in a Name? ‘Taipan’ is the name given to these snakes by Aboriginal people of Cape York Peninsula. The Coastal Taipan is also called the Eastern Taipan.

The genus name ‘Oxyuranus’ derives from the Greek words ‘oxys’ meaning ‘sharp’ and ‘oura’ meaning ‘tail’. The species name ‘scutellatus’ is a diminutive form of the Latin ‘scutum’ meaning ‘shield’. Thus the scientific name roughly translates as ‘small-shielded sharp-tail’. Taipans belong to the Elapidae family of snakes. Members of this family are all venomous, with relatively short fixed fangs at the front of the jaw. What does it look like? In general, you can’t positively identify most Australian snakes just by their colour. Positive identification is made by counting rows of scales across the back in mid-body, and by comparison of the pattern of scales on the head—not usually practical in the bush! Knowledge of both the appearance and the behaviour of all snakes in a particular area not only helps deepen our understanding and appreciation of their remarkable adaptations, but may prevent unwelcome confrontations. Taipans are long, slender snakes with a whip-like tail. The Coastal Taipan is usually a uniform light to dark brown above, but it may be almost black in colour. The belly is creamy or yellow, with irregular yellow or orange spots.

During winter months the scales tend to darken in colour, perhaps to help the Taipan absorb heat from the sun while basking. The head is long and deep, and distinct from the neck. It is often described as ‘coffin-shaped’. A distinctive feature is the band of cream colour that wraps around the nose and along the jaw line. There is a distinct ridge above the eye, which has an orange iris. By contrast, the Eastern Brown snake has a short rounded head which is not distinct from the neck, and lacks the cream coloured snout. The body is robust, with an average length of 2.5 m ( 8.1 ft). A maximum length of 3.35 m ( 10.9 ft) has been recorded! This makes the Coastal Taipan Australia’s longest venomous snake. Taipans are terrestrial and usually hunt by day, except during very hot weather. Many non-venomous species such as pythons and tree snakes are nocturnal, and often climb trees or up into rafters or the roof of buildings. They are not usually aggressive, but prefer to retreat to shelter unless cornered or provoked.

If they do feel threatened, they coil into an s-shape, lift up the front of the body and vibrate the end of the tail. Where is it Found? The Coastal Taipan is found all along the eastern coast of Queensland, down into the extreme northeastern corner of New South Wales. It is also found in the northern part of the Northern Territory, and the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Its range is discontinuous, in that it does not occur along the southern coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, in between these two coastal areas of distribution. The Coastal Taipan occupies a wide range of habitats, from tropical wet sclerophyll forest to dry sclerophyll forest and open savannah woodland. It shelters in abandoned animal burrows, under roots and fallen timber, in hollow logs, and in deep leaf litter. It is also attracted to rubbish dumps, discarded building materials, and sugarcane windrows, as these places also shelter rats and mice. What does it Eat? All Coastal Taipans, even hatchlings, feed almost exclusively on mammals and birds. Lizards are eaten only occasionally. Bandicoots are a favourite food of adults.

They also eat small native rodents such as Melomys and marsupials such as Quolls. Coastal Taipans have also developed a taste for introduced domestic rats and mice, and so are attracted to farm buildings and sugar cane plantations. Adaptations for this Diet Taipans detect their prey by sensing movement and odour. They seem to have better eyesight than many other snakes. They flick their forked tongue rapidly in and out of the mouth, ‘tasting’ the presence on the air of potential prey animals. This chemical information is passed to the Jacobson’s organ in the roof of the mouth, and then to the brain. Having located its prey, the Taipan strikes incredibly fast, biting its victim, and then immediately retreating to wait till it dies. This is called the ‘strike and release’ hunting method, and is exclusive to Taipans. The extreme toxicity of the venom means that the prey animal will die very quickly; then the snake has to follow its scent for only a short distance to find its meal. There are advantages to this method of hunting food.

An animal such as a bandicoot has sharp claws and teeth, and will fight back viciously when attacked; but because it is so quickly immobilized by the venom, the Taipan does not have to risk being injured or bitten itself by its victim, nor does it have to expend energy struggling to hold onto the victim till it dies. Now the snake is faced with its meal—possibly a bandicoot or large rat—that is many times larger in diameter than its own body. Snakes can’t rip their food apart, so they need to swallow their victim whole. This is a formidable undertaking! Imagine you or me having to swallow an entire melon without chewing it into bite-size pieces! Snakes have amazing adaptations that allow them to swallow their prey whole: First, they nudge the victim until it is correctly aligned so that they can swallow it head first. This way, they are not going against the grain of fur, feathers, or spikes on their prey. The two halves of a snake’s lower jaw are not fused in the middle, but are held together by flexible muscles and ligaments. This allows them to stretch incredibly far apart as the animal is swallowing. The upper and lower jaw do not ‘unhinge’ as is commonly believed.

Instead, the food passes below this joint along the bottom of the neck, which can stretch enormously around the prey animal. In order to move the food along, the snake grips it with the fangs on alternate sides of the jaw, moving one side of the jaw and then the other along the prey, passing it down its throat. During this process it produces huge amounts of saliva to lubricate the prey as it moves along. The ribs of a snake are not anchored to a breastbone (as in other animals, including people) so the tips of the ribs can stretch apart as the food moves on down the snake’s body. The skin of the snake is also very stretchy, with relatively small scales. This enables the body to expand hugely as the food item is swallowed. It can take several hours to swallow a large animal. After eating large prey, the snake will usually spend much time basking in the sun to maintain a high enough body temperature to digest the meal. The venom, which stopped the victim in its tracks, now helps to digest it—powerful enzymes in the venom help break down the tissues of the dead animal. The ability to swallow very large food items means that a big snake need not expend energy on frequent hunting activities.

It may need to eat only a few meals every year. Snakes in Love: Breeding Behaviour Mating occurs anytime from March to December, but peaks from July to October. This is springtime in Australia, when conditions for incubating eggs are optimal; the rainy season is approaching so the eggs won’t dry out, and food for hatchlings will be more abundant. If more than one male Taipan encounters a female, they will engage in a spectacular display called ritualistic combat. In this test of strength, they wrap around each other’s bodies like a coiled rope, wrestling with each other till the stronger snake forces his rival’s head to the ground. The struggle may last for hours, until the stronger male finally wins the right to mate with the female. If the female is receptive, he rubs his chin up and down her body, then twists the lower part of his body under hers. Males have two sex organs, called hemipenes, but only one at a time is used for mating. Mating may last for several hours, and a female may mate with more than one male during the breeding season.

From 52 to 85 days after mating, the female lays up to 22 eggs, with an average clutch size of 14 eggs. Older females (which have a larger body size) generally lay more eggs than younger ones. Taipan eggs are elongated in shape, with a leathery, permeable shell. Females will not usually mate every year because of the high energy costs and risks associated with reproduction. Eggs are laid in an abandoned animal burrow, or in loose soil under a rock or tree root. The nest site must be damp because right after they are laid the eggs must absorb a large amount of water, which the embryo needs for development. Soon after laying, the female will abandon the nest and have nothing further to do with her offspring. The eggs hatch 2 to 3 months later, depending on the air temperature and humidity. Higher temperatures increase the rate of metabolism, allowing eggs to hatch sooner. Hatchlings are about 600 mm in length (23.6 in) and grow very fast under favourable conditions. Male Coastal Taipans reach sexual maturity at about 16 months of age, and females at about 28 months of age.

Little is known about their life expectancy in the wild; snakes in captivity reach 10 -15 years of age. Just how Dangerous is It? The venom of the Coastal Taipan is rated as the third most toxic of all snake venoms in the world (behind those of the Inland Taipan and the Eastern Brown, which are also Australian snakes!). The accepted standard for comparing the toxicity of snake venoms was devised in the 1970’s by the Commonwealth Serum Laboratory (CSL) in Melbourne. Tests were done by injecting live mice, and measuring the amount of venom required to kill 50% of test animals, yielding a number called LD50 (or Lethal Dose 50): the smaller the number, the more toxic the venom. The LD50 of the Coastal Taipan is 0.099 mg/kg. Expressed in other units, a single bite could kill nearly 100,000 mice. The actual number for any particular snake doesn’t really mean all that much (except to all those mice!): dead is dead.

The relative danger of venomous snakes depends on many factors, such as the amount of venom injected, the length of the fangs, the sensitivity of the victim to the toxin, and the likelihood of getting bitten in the first place. The venom of a Coastal Taipan contains a cocktail of poisons. The most powerful ingredient is a neurotoxin which paralyses the nerves of the heart, lungs and diaphragm, suffocating the victim. It also contains a powerful myotoxin, which destroys muscle tissue, and a procoagulant which causes abnormal clotting leading to internal bleeding. Coastal Taipans have the longest fangs of all Australian snakes- up to 13 mm, or half an inch long! They are also the longest venomous snake in Australia. They strike extremely quickly, and can inflict multiple bites and inject large amounts of venom – up to 60 mg. Because they hunt rats and mice, Coastal Taipans sometimes occur close to populated areas, seeking out their prey in barns and sugarcane fields. This brings them into contact with humans more often than Inland Taipans, which have a more toxic venom but live in remote inland regions .

Taipans have a reputation for aggressiveness, but will actually avoid close contact with humans if possible. A snake isn’t going to waste energy or venom attacking something that isn’t good to eat, or that isn’t about to attack. We’re not on the menu for Taipans, so they will only try to bite us if they feel threatened. If provoked, however, they will gather the body into loose coils and strike extremely fast, often inflicting multiple bites. By far the most bites occur when people try to kill or to catch snakes. Since the development of Taipan antivenene in 1955, recorded deaths from Taipan bites have been very rare. On average, Australia records fewer than 5 fatalities a year from snake bite. Many more of these occur from the bite of the Eastern Brown than from Coastal Taipan bites. By contrast, venomous snakes such as cobras and vipers cause tens of thousands of deaths per year in the very densely populated continents of Africa and Asia. The Taipan is a very large, very venomous snake, but the chances of a person being bitten and killed are extremely low. More people are killed in Australia every year by horses or bee stings than from snake bite.

If we leave snakes alone, they will leave us alone. First Aid Anyone out and about in the Australian bush should carry a couple of broad elastic pressure bandages. First aid for any snake bite follows the same basic procedure. The priorities are to stop the spread of venom and to seek medical help: Call for medical help immediately. Reassure the victim and keep him calm. Venom is spread through the lymphatic system so muscle contraction (movement) of all parts of the body should be kept to a minimum. Don’t cut or wash the site of the bite. Wrap the site with a pressure bandage or any other strips of cloth, then wrap the bitten limb starting at the extremities and working back to the bite. This prevents the spread of venom through the lymphatic system. Immobilize the limb with a splint. The victim should then be taken as quickly as possible to the nearest hospital, preferably by ambulance. All Australian hospitals and medical clinics carry antivenes specific to each species of snake, as well as kits that enable the staff to identify the type of snake by taking a swab of the bite site. It is not necessary to kill or capture the snake in order to identify it.

You are just putting yourself at added risk of being bitten. Status in the Wild Coastal Taipans are common in many parts of their range, and are not considered to be endangered. In many areas they have probably increased in abundance since human settlement because of the proliferation of introduced animals like rats and mice. All snakes in Australia are protected by law. In Queensland the Nature Conservation Act (1992) prohibits killing or capturing wild snakes (unless they are threatening life). Any snakes in captivity have been bred and sold by licensed breeders. Taipans are extremely efficient hunters, beautifully adapted to their niche in the Australian bush. They deserve our healthy respect. CONTACT US Australia Zoo - Reptiles Reptiles Shop Now » (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) The fierce snake, otherwise known as the inland taipan or small-scaled snake, can reach a total length of 2.5 metres, although 1.8 metres is the average length. The upper surface of the snake can vary from dark brown to a light straw colour. Dramatic seasonal colour changes also take place, with dark winter and light summer phases.

Habitat The fierce snake inhabits the black soil plains in the region where the Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory borders converge. This area has little vegetation so the fierce snake uses deep cracks in the dry soil to escape predators and the burning heat. Diet The diet is almost solely composed of small mammals, particularly native rats, which, at times, reach plague proportions in this region. The prey is subdued with a rapid, accurate strike, injecting the extremely toxic venom deep into the prey item. The venom is unequalled in toxicity amongst any snake anywhere in the world. Breeding Populations of this snake are highly dependent on the availability of its favourite prey, the plague rat. When the rats experience a good year, the numbers of fierce snakes will rise. By the same token, a poor year results in the loss of many rats and snakes from lack of food. The female fierce snake lays between 12 and 20 eggs per clutch, which are laid in an abandoned animal burrows or deep soil crevices. Venom The fierce snake produces drop for drop, the most toxic venom of any snake in the world. One bite possesses enough punch to drop 100 full grown men.

Display Status Teen bitten by ‘world’s most venomous snake’ Teen bitten by ‘world’s most venomous snake’ Dylan Stableford Pin it Share A 17-year-old Australian boy is in serious condition after being bitten by what most reptile experts believe is the world's most venomous snake. According to the Sydney Morning Herald , the boy was admitted to a hospital in the town of Kurri Kurri with a snakebite on his left hand. He was later transferred to Calvary Mater Hospital in Newcastle. The snake, which was brought still alive to the hospital by the boy's friend, was identified as an inland taipan. The snake is native to western New South Wales—about 600 miles from where the boy was bitten. A spokesman for the Taronga Zoo in Sydney told the paper that a drop of the snake's venom "can kill 100 adult men and 250,000 mice." [Related: Kids keep 2-headed snake as pet ] Julie Mendezona, head zookeeper at Australian Reptile Park, told the paper that reports of inland taipan bites are extremely rare, and that there have been about 100 in Australia's history.

A bite will effectively "start shutting down the function of messages going to your brain, to your vital organs, your lungs and your heart and even your muscles," she said. "So, paralysis is usually what happens with the patient. Because it can act so fast, being a neurotoxin, that's what makes it such a deadly animal. It can kill someone within maybe 45 minutes. There have been reports of people experiencing effects of venom within half an hour as well. "It also contains an anticoagulant," she added, "which means it will interfere with the blood clotting, so therefore you can experience bleeding out as well." Barry Martin, a veteran snake catcher who was called in to identify the inland taipan, told the Daily Telegraph it's known as a "fierce snake." "They [used to be] called the 'two-step snake' as in it bites you, you take two steps and you're dead," he said. Reblog

Question: What kind of creature is a taipan?
Answer: A SNAKE